A totally inspirational film whose cumulative emotional impact is such that it may have you weeping like a child in the last few minutes. In fact, the only criticism you could level against it, that it stretches credulity to the limits, is totally invalidated by the fact that it's a true story. Edward James Olmos (deservedly Oscar-nominated) lives the role of the sly, humorous, seemingly laid-back maths teacher at a Los Angeles ghetto school, who takes a class of ragged, rebellious, tough Mexican-American girls and boys on the verge of juvenile delinquency or lives of drudgery and turns them into dedicated students. You'd say it wasn't possible - but this man did it. He cajoles the teenagers, cudgels them, pokes fun at them, always finds a way to turn their taunts back on them. Daringly, he steers through a plan to put them in for an Advanced Placement class, teaching them calculus and other higher maths, even though the school hasn't a single calculator. All the performances are absolutely ace: do see it.

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